The Advent Human Organizations
CERBERUS CORPORATION Overview and History The Cerberus directive began as a grasp at immortality by wealthy investors in the 1950's during the Cold War. Their goal was survival as the harsh reality of nuclear warfare was all around. While most research at the time focused on adapting the harsh environment to suit the needs of the human, the Cerberus directors reasoned that it was far more efficient to adapt the human to suit the environment. Their research led them to raise prodigies from around the world, some willingly and some less than willingly. By isolating what made these prodigies so special, they hoped to facilitate the next level in human development. In was during a project to understand the nature of so-called "precognitives" who supposedly were capable of seeing visions that they discovered the war that was being raged beyond human perception. Two sides raged in the spirit realm, on one side the bestial Hollows and on the other the mysterious shinigami. What information was gained was mirrored by a thousand setbacks as their psychics and modified humans returned from data-gathering missions with large gaps in their memory. One thing was certain, in the crossfire of the great war, it was the humans who always paid the price. Like the people who founded the Corporation, Cerberus rededicated itself to fighting the battle for human survival. By perfecting the advent human and his talents in their laboratories, they hope to safeguard the human race's survival and advancement from both shinigami and hollow. Unfortunately, this purpose isn’t one that is particularly attractive to investors, and the company masquerades as a weapons and defense contracting firm, sending their augmented agents onto various battlefields in the world in return for the capital to fund their research. Cerberus Corporation operatives are sometimes raised in the company’s schools for the “gifted,” which appear to the outside world to be private schools for the exceptionally talented, run by the Child Development Center department of the company. The majority of these students never truly awaken, but their potential can be unlocked by various chemical cocktails. Some agents are not above kidnapping, genetic tampering or corporate espionage if it means that they can further their research and engage in such things regularly. Today, Cerberus has expanded worldwide, with bases in most of the world’s major cities. While they masquerade as different chemical manufacturing and contracting firms, their main goal still is the advancement of the human species. Certain bases act as hubs of information and command all bases within the said reigon. The Tokyo Base commands all East Asian and Oceania affairs. The Mumbai Base handles West Asian and Middle Eastern branches. The Berlin sector oversees Europe. The North American base is located in Chicago, while the South American branch is located in Brasilia. ORPHEUS Since the dawn of man, there have been those who transcend the plane of the living, and catch a glimpse into the afterlife. Every culture in every country has a different name for these beings; Shamans, Oracles, Witches, Lunatics... These enigmatic beings who walk in the realm of both the living and the dead, are for the most part regarded as superstition or lunacy in the modern day and age. Still, within the recesses of society, there have always been those who are savvy to certain information regarding these individuals, and know the truth behind their claims. In 1923, a fringe group of investors approached International Criminal Police Commission, the precursor to modern-day Interpol with the goal of creating a paranormal investigation unit. Though the details on the formation of this unit are shrouded in mystery, Interpol immediately started seeing results following the team's inception. Originally expecting ludicrous tales of Bigfoot and UFO sightings, the ICPC was shocked to see homicide rates drop drastically in every area they placed a paranormal agent. Governments from around the world began funding the mysterious branch in exchange for their services. In modern times, funding was sent to the organization with little or no knowledge of where the money is going or what it was being used for. Governments simply paid knowing that it kept crime rates down. There are very few individuals who were aware of this mysterious organization, and even fewer that were savvy to what the branch actually did. The Orpheus Initiative, often times called simply Orpheus, was a contingent of individuals from around the world, selected for their unnatural perception into the world of the dead. These agents were trained to harness their senses and combat the bestial inhabitants of the afterlife: Hollows. These monstrous beings were well-documented by the Initiative, and had been sighted in almost every conceivable place on the planet. Hostile by nature, these creatures, dubbed Demons by Orpheus, were the primary target of the organizations efforts. Still, despite the creature's abundance, their existence remains both enigmatic and mysterious. More recently, however, the tension between Initiative Orpheus and other government agencies had been rising. Pressure had been put on Interpol by public authorities and civil groups who contested the Initiative's motives. As such, the relationship between Orpheus and the regional governments who funded it began to degrade, forcing the organization to relocate its headquarters several times, before finally ending up in Japan. It was here, however, that the Initiative would be dealt the most severe blow of all. After series of brutal encounters with not only Hollows, but other entities drawn to the spiritual hot spot that is Tokyo, the organization's resources were spread thin. With it's benefactors slowly cutting their support, despite the ever-increasing demand on the Initiative, everything was bound to come crumbling down. On that fateful day in Tokyo, the world finally bared witness to what was apparently the end of Initiative Orpheus. The city was suddenly and violently overrun by Hollow hordes. Despite being warned about the impending attack, the cabinet members of the organization dismissed the claims, and failed to act until it was too late. As chaos spread throughout the urban metropolis, Orpheus found itself dragged into the conflict with no direction or leadership. Shortly after the battle began, Orpheus headquarters was razed and its board of directors as well as many other high-ranking officials were slaughtered or devoured by Hollow hordes at the command of the Arrancar, Melusina. When the dust settled, the Initiative was in shambles. After the Tokyo incident, regional governments and international bodies alike severed their ties with the organization and cut funding entirely, citing the Initiative's inability to prevent the conflict in Tokyo as monumental failure. Orpheus' remaining assets were liquidated, leaving nothing left of the formerly-grand Initiative Orpheus. As such, survivors of the Tokyo incident were left high and dry. With no place to return, no livelihood, and no purpose, the remaining agents disbanded, for the most part. Unbeknownst to any of the organizations former business partners, a select group of agents remained active, functioning in an underground fashion. Despite the lack of any clear-cut leadership, the survivors proved to be incredibly resilient and resourceful; carrying out their mission statement even without the Initiative. Unfortunately, these activities could not go unnoticed for long. In their long years working as a government organization, Orpheus had accrued an impressive list of enemies. Without the authority of their old employers to back them up, the shambles of Orpheus were fair game for anyone looking for some revenge. Spiritual deviants, Rival organizations, even people who just plain didn't like the way Orpheus handled things - all of them wanted a piece of the Initiative now that they'd been knocked off their pedestal. Before long, these rag-tag groups of dissidents banded together to form an organization of their own: The Order of the White Horse. Jumping in to fill the void left by the collapse of Orpheus, this new organization quickly took up Orpheus' place among the local government. Their first order of business was of course, to clense the remnants of the Initiative from Japan. Claiming that the remaining members of the now-defunct group were both a threat to the government as well as the safety of Japan, they quickly went to work hunting down and eliminating any survivors they could find. But this is not, however, the end of Orpheus' story... The rebellious lieutenant Aragon Tenbanto stepped up to take control of the Orpheus Underground movement. Having been on the front lines during the massacre at Headquarters, Tenbanto was spared the fate that befell so many others that night. Drawing the survivors to him, the organization that was thought destroyed began to take shape. Though lacking both the funding and numbers that they had boasted prior to the Tokyo Event, the Lieutenant and his comrades proved most resourceful; managing to keep the remaining agents well-equipped and well-looked after while they prepared for the coming battle. This was not a battle of pride, nor duty, nor revenge. It was a battle for survival. They were being hunted, but it was due time they turned the tables. Just as their predecessors before them had taken up arms against the bestial Hollows, they too would turn the hunters into the hunted. 'TNK' Waiting for full write up from Faction Leader.